The Seven Elders noticed Li Qiang's wicked grin and all fell silent, staring at him.
After a while, seeing that he was still laughing, and the laughter was becoming increasingly eerie, the Elder Da couldn't help but ask, "Could it be that you can find a master?"
Li Qiang suddenly realized he had laughed a bit too much. He rubbed his hands together to cover his embarrassment and said seriously, "Of course, I'll go find an ancient immortal, but there's one condition... you must agree to it."
The Elder Da said, "Whatever your conditions, we will agree to them."
The other six elders also nodded in agreement.
Li Qiang said, "Regarding the Guardian Divine Beast... you are not allowed to talk about them until he obtains the Guardian Divine Armor, otherwise you won't be able to gather eight Guardian Divine Beast."
He planned to drag Tianzhen in, gather eight Guardian Divine Beast, and go to the central hub. He thought they could break the self-destruction restriction. Even if they failed, taking him to the Primordial Realm would be fine, saving him from constantly causing trouble.
Li Qiang thought this was a great idea.
The Seven Elders understood Li Qiang's meaning. Elder Liu smiled and said, "If we can reach the Silver Star Grand Hall and find the central hub of the Illusory Star Divine Formation, we can break the self-destruction restriction on the Guardian Divine Armor. In fact, if the Guardian Divine Armor can be upgraded, the crisis of self-destruction can also be resolved."
Li Qiang thought to himself, "Anyway, scaring Tianzhen isn't bad; this guy is really a headache." He laughed and said, "I'll go get him now. You guys wait here; I'll be right back." With that, he disappeared into the air.
Tianzhen kept pacing around in the square outside the Illusory God Main Hall. He had always been a restless person since he was a child. Even though his cultivation was profound, he was still the same as before. Since he was imprisoned in the Beiye Pill Cauldron by Heavenly Aunt, he appeared to be much more composed. However, when faced with truly important matters, he was still unsettled.
Qian Shanyong and Dainan Fengyu were so confused by him that they had no choice but to sit quietly and cultivate, ignoring him completely.
Gu Xing didn't want to talk to Qian Shanyong, so he sat in the distance to meditate.
Not only did the Tianzhen go around in circles, but he also mumbled something under his breath, occasionally crying out, "I'm so pitiful!" which greatly annoyed the three immortals present.
This guy's voice was not only unpleasant to hear, but also had a particularly strong penetrating power. Even during periods of deep cultivation, one could hear his shouts, which were like annoying mosquitoes buzzing in one's ear.
None of the three dared to say anything to him, after all, this guy's strength was undeniable, and he had a strange temper. No one wanted to provoke him, so they could only pretend to be deaf and dumb and meditate with their eyes closed.
Finally, unable to bear the Tianzhen teasing any longer, Qian Shanyong said, " Fengyu, let's chat."
Dainan Fengyu smiled wryly, "Brother Qian, I also wanted to say something... about the matter of cultivators from Sealed Fate Planet migrating to the Primordial Realm." The two began to discuss it in hushed tones.
Poor Gu Xing had no choice but to endure it alone; he felt it was even more unbearable than being punished on the Heavenly General Wheel.
Li Qiang quietly appeared in the square. He pretended to sit cross-legged. Tianzhen saw him at a glance and shouted, "Success!" He then rushed to Li Qiang's side, hesitated for a moment, and didn't dare to disturb him.
He sat down cross-legged and stared longingly at Li Qiang.
Gu Xing stood up and strode forward.
After waiting for a full half hour, Li Qiang finally breathed a sigh of relief. He looked up and saw Gu Xing, exclaiming in surprise, "Lord Gu Xing? What are you doing here?"
Just as Gu Xing was about to speak, Tianzhen pushed him away, "Wait a minute, little guy, let me ask first."
Gu Xing stood helplessly to one side, inwardly cursing Tianzhen.
Tianzhen, he asked, "How did it go, young man? Was it successful?"
Li Qiang sighed, Tianzhen heart filled with mixed emotions. Tianzhen said pitifully, "Little brother, tell me, I can endure it."
Li Qiang said, "It wasn't very smooth, but there's hope of getting in, however—" He dragged out his words, wanting to see how Tianzhen would respond.
Tianzhen exclaimed anxiously, "But what? Tell me quickly! Don't keep this old man in suspense... I'm so pitiful!"
Li Qiang suppressed a laugh and said, "I'm missing a helper; this person has to be very capable."
Tianzhen jumped up and shouted, "Hey, aren't I a ready-made expert? I'll go!"
Li Qiang said, "That won't do. This expert has to make certain sacrifices, and... I don't want to put you in a difficult position..."
With Tianzhen courage, she asked, "Tell me, what's the trouble you're facing?"
Gu Xing, Qian Shanyong, and Dainan Fengyu all listened intently, curious as to what was troubling Li Qiang.
Li Qiang said calmly, "Actually... with your cultivation level, there shouldn't be any problem. You must kill a Guardian Divine Beast and obtain its Guardian Divine Armor to disable the Ancient God Restriction. However, the Guardian Divine Armor has certain side effects... that's what's making me hesitant."
He didn't mention any side effects, Tianzhen didn't care. What he was focused on was Li Qiang's previous statement: the Guardian Divine Armor could disable the Ancient God Restriction.
Tianzhen laughed nonchalantly, "I thought it was something serious. Okay, leave it to me! Take me into the Illusory God Main Hall." He pulled Li Qiang away.
Gu Xing hurriedly said, "Wait a minute, I have something to do."
Tianzhen was very annoyed. If it weren't for Heavenly Aunt's intervention, he would have kicked her out long ago. He shouted, "Little guy, speak up if you have something to say, or shut up if you have something to say. Can't you see we're busy?"
Gu Xing was almost driven mad by Tianzhen's naiveté; that old guy was really going too far.
He gritted his teeth, lowered his head, and said in a forced, swallowed voice, "I received a bracelet in the Ancient God Repository. There should have been something inside, but when I went back to check, it was gone..."
Li Qiang was baffled. "What do you mean?"
Tianzhen was now completely loyal to Li Qiang. He explained with a straight face, "He means you stole something from his bracelet! Hehe, am I right?" He deliberately sowed discord, then indignantly burst into a tirade against Gu Xing: "Are you brainless? How dare you slander my brother! You... you... you're infuriating..."
Li Qiang felt a deep sense of gratitude towards Gu Xing, especially since he was Mo Huaiyuan's nominal mentor. Although Gu Xing wouldn't admit it, Li Qiang held him in high regard. He said sincerely, "Lord Gu Xing, I can guarantee... I didn't take anything from inside the bracelet..."
He suddenly remembered Chiming, and an embarrassed expression appeared on his face. He said, "Wait until I return from the Illusory God Hall, then I'll go ask Chiming. Perhaps he knows something."
Gu Xing was so angry at Tianzhen that he almost lost his temper, but Li Qiang's words calmed him down. He also guessed that Chiming was behind it, and Heavenly Aunt guessed the same thing.
He nodded and said, "Alright, I'll wait for you to come back... Sigh, this item is very important to the Azure Emperor, and even to the Heavenly Aunt."
Li Qiang was astonished. He didn't know what Chiming had taken, but for it to attract the attention of the Azure Emperor and the Heavenly Aunt, it must be something extraordinary.
He nodded and said, "Alright, you shouldn't wait here anymore. How about we go to the Primordial Realm first? Brother Qian, Sister Fengyu, the Illusory God Main Hall is too dangerous. It's better if you don't go in."
Dainan Fengyu laughed, "You've made your sister come all this way for nothing again, hehe."
Li Qiang scratched his head and laughed, "Sister Fengyu, if we find anything... let's share it together."
Qian Shanyong didn't care whether he could go in or not. He said, "Alright, brother, you can take us back to our old place in the Primordial Realm. There should be quite a few cultivators from Sealed Fate Planet already. We can go back and make some arrangements."
Li Qiang laughed and said, "By the way, Sister Fengyu, could you go and ask Tianshi to go to the Primordial Realm to cultivate in seclusion as well?"
Dainan Fengyu raised an eyebrow and said disdainfully, "Why should I care about him? That guy is always a loner and selfish. I hate him!"
Qian Shanyong advised, " Fengyu, although Tianshi is aloof, he doesn't have any bad intentions... Hmm, if I have the chance to meet him, I will persuade him to come to the Primordial Realm to cultivate in seclusion."
Unlike Dainan Fengyu, he considered issues much more objectively and comprehensively. After all, Tianshi was an immortal, whose strength far surpassed that of cultivators. Allowing him to cultivate in seclusion in the Primordial Realm Primordial Realm would only benefit the cultivators there, without any harm.
Tianzhen started getting impatient again, urging, "Are you two little devils ever going to stop? Why are you so talkative? Hurry up... uh, you talk... you talk... I'm so pitiful."
Li Qiang merely glanced at him, and Tianzhen was so frightened that he dared not continue speaking. For some reason, he felt himself becoming more and more afraid of Li Qiang.
Qian Shanyong didn't want to offend Tianzhen, so he said, "Senior, there's no need to rush. We'll leave now. Brother, we'll wait for your safe return. Be careful."
Dainan Fengyu also said, "Brother, be careful. If it's too dangerous, come back. There's no need to take the risk."
The two men had come to regard Li Qiang as a true friend, and their words revealed their concern.
Li Qiang felt a surge of emotion and laughed, "No problem, Tianzhen will take care of everything, haha."
Li Qiang then said to Gu Xing, "Lord Gu Xing, don't worry. If it really was Chiming who took the contents of the bracelet, I will make him return it to you."
Gu Xing breathed a sigh of relief and said gratefully, "Alright, then I thank you in advance." He bowed deeply.
Li Qiang quickly helped him up, saying, "No... you're my Big Brother Mo's ancestor... hehe, please don't be so polite."
Gu Xing regretted it again; he should have taken the opportunity to accept Mo Huaiyuan as a disciple last time. He nodded and said, "Be careful when you go to the Illusory God Main Hall."
Tianzhen muttered to himself, "Why didn't anyone tell me to be careful? Oh, I'm so pitiful!" But no one paid any attention to his complaints.
After Li Qiang transported Qian Shanyong and Dainan Fengyu to the planet where cultivators gathered on Sealed Fate Planet, he then sent Gu Xing to another uninhabited planet before saying to Tianzhen, "Are you ready? Let's go."
Back in the Luoge Grand Hall, Tianzhen stared in astonishment at the seven ancient immortals, rubbing his eyes and saying, "I... am I seeing things... Isn't that Yu Fei? Wait, Liu Mang... Oh dear, you're all still alive? Yang Buyu came with you, where's he?"
A flicker of panic crossed his face.
Li Qiang hadn't expected that Tianzhen knew these ancient immortals. But he thought it made sense; perhaps the connections between these ancient immortals were far closer than those between cultivators.
Elder Yu and Elder Liu were equally astonished, and they exclaimed almost in unison, " Tianzhen?"
Tianzhen nodded repeatedly, saying, "It's me, it's me, haha." He forced a smile, his face full of embarrassment.
Elder Yu and Elder Liu exchanged a glance, and simultaneously launched into a flurry of punches and kicks.
While dodging, Tianzhen yelled, "Hey, what are you doing? Stop fighting! This isn't the place to fight..."
Li Qiang shouted, "Stop it! If you want to fight, go outside! Fighting here is suicide." The other five elders also stepped forward to try and break up the fight.
The Elder Da asked, "What are you doing?"
Elder Liu said angrily, "We came to explore the Illusory God Main Hall because we listened to him... Tianzhen, let me tell you, of the five of us, only Yu Fei and I are still alive. The other three died in the Illusory God Main Hall, vanished into thin air, even their souls dissipated. You... it's all your doing!"
Tianzhen said with a wronged expression, "I only told that brat Yang Buyu where the Illusory God Hall was. I didn't ask you to come. I originally planned to have Yang Buyu wait for me to go to the Illusory God Hall together, but I was imprisoned in Yuangu's Beiye Pill Cauldron and couldn't meet him at all. After I came out, I couldn't find him anymore. Later, I heard that five ancient immortals were trapped in the main hall of the Illusory God Main Hall, and that's when I found out that he led the people there... Is this my fault? Sigh, I'm so pitiful!"
He cried out his innocence while secretly observing their expressions.
Elder Yu and Elder Liu both looked helpless. They were angry for a moment, but after calming down and thinking about it, they realized that Tianzhen couldn't be blamed for this.
When they first heard that Yang Buyu knew the location of the Illusory God Hall, they didn't consider the risks at all. With their strength, the five of them were almost invincible in this realm, so they confidently rushed into the Illusory God Hall, only to be trapped inside.
The Elder Da understood what was going on and advised, "Forget it. Back then, which expert wouldn't want to explore the Illusory God Hall? Getting trapped inside is nobody's fault but theirs. I was in the same situation when I entered the Illusory God Hall. Luckily, I obtained the Guardian Divine Armor, or I would have been finished too."
Li Qiang also stepped forward and offered a few words of advice, saying, "We must obtain a Guardian Divine Armor... How can we enter the Death Pavilion?"
Elder Liu said, "Those without the Guardian Divine Armor cannot Death Pavilion. If they go, they must kill a Guardian Divine Beast. The seven of us can watch from the sidelines, but we cannot help. Therefore, those with weak cultivation are absolutely not allowed to enter the Death Pavilion. If they cannot kill the Guardian Divine Beast, they are doomed. We can bring people into the Death Pavilion, but we cannot bring them out."
Tianzhen and confident, he said, "No problem, the divine beast poses no threat to me."
Li Qiang said, "So that means I can't go in?" He suddenly felt strange and asked, "When I first came in, I entered the Passage Pavilion, and you all worked together to bring me to the Luoge Grand Hall. Why didn't you send me directly to the Death Pavilion?"
The Elder Da explained, "This was my idea. In the past, some immortals were killed by divine beasts after being thrown directly into the Death Pavilion, which was a real pity. We've waited so long for you to come, so of course we won't let you die so easily. If your cultivation level isn't high enough, we can find a way to improve your strength, and then we'll be more confident going to the Death Pavilion. That's why I brought you to the Luoge Grand Hall; it's one of the few safe places in the front hall."
Elder Liu said, "What we needed were helpers, so when we first saw you... we had to test your cultivation level. Hehe, it took the combined strength of four of us to trap you. If it weren't for the Elder Da forcibly moving you to the Luoge Grand Hall, we would have taken you to the Death Pavilion right then and there."
Li Qiang chuckled twice and said, "You take Tianzhen to retrieve the Guardian Divine Armor. I have some other matters to attend to. After you obtain the armor, wait for me in the Luoge Grand Hall. I'll be back soon."
Tianzhen cried out, "You... little brother, please don't keep us waiting too long! You know, I'm terrified of the restrictions in the Beiye Pill Cauldron. I get a headache just seeing Ancient God Restriction. Little brother, don't play tricks on me..."
Li Qiang grinned and said, " Tianzhen, don't worry, I always keep my word."
Tianzhen really didn't quite believe Li Qiang. He muttered, "Your smile is so weird... Anyway, it's good that you came back soon. Sigh, I'm so pitiful."
He noticed that Li Qiang's smile was somewhat malicious, but he misunderstood. Li Qiang's strange smile was him imagining what Tianzhen like wearing the Guardian Divine Armor — Tianzhen with a beast's head, that would definitely be very funny.
Before Tianzhen could nag any longer, Li Qiang bowed to the Seven Elders to take his leave and vanished into thin air in the blink of an eye.
Tianzhen watched Li Qiang disappear, a sudden unease gripped him. He blinked hard and asked, "Uh, how do I Death Pavilion?"
Although Elder Liu and Elder Yu no longer resented Tianzhen, they both wanted to teach him a lesson. Elder Yu gave him a wink, Elder Liu nodded knowingly, saying, " The Guardian Divine Beast isn't very strong. With your strength, you can easily take it down."
Elder Yu added, "Indeed, it's difficult for ordinary immortals to defeat Guardian Divine Beast, but Brother Tianzhen is different. He can handle it with one hand. Haha, we'll wait for your success."
The two of them praised Tianzhen's abilities in a coordinated manner, with a clear purpose: to make him careless and suffer losses.
The Elder Da asked in surprise, "You...?"
Elder Liu hurriedly stopped him, saying, "Alright, I'll take you to the nearest Death Pavilion."
Having said that, without giving Tianzhen any chance to respond, he used Divine Spirit Instruction to send Tianzhen inside.
Then, an Tianzhen voice echoed through the Luoge Grand Hall: "I'm not ready... I'm so pitiful... you guys..."
Elder Yu laughed, "This time, this guy should suffer a bit."
The Elder Da couldn't help but say, "What are you two up to? The closer you get to the Death Pavilion of the Luoge Grand Hall, the stronger the Guardian Divine Beast inside become. Why take this risk... You two... Sigh, let's go over and give him some pointers. Anyone who can't defeat Guardian Divine Beast will suffer."
Elder Liu said, "It's alright, this guy is stronger than all of us, we can't hurt him."
The Elder Da, always cautious, rebuked them, "Do you really want to stay here? Regardless of any grudge you have against Tianzhen, his arrival here means we have no hope of escaping. Making things difficult for him is making things difficult for yourselves. Don't you understand this?"
Elder Yu smiled wryly and said, "I understand. Let's go over there; perhaps we can offer him some guidance."
Li Qiang returned to the Primordial Realm and immediately searched for Chiming Chiming, quickly finding his trail.
He subtly moved Chiming in front of him, and Chiming said with a wry smile, "No wonder, I was wondering who had such great abilities. Sigh, brother, don't drag me around like this. I'm a Elder Da man, it's embarrassing. Can't I just come over if you want to see me?"
Li Qiang didn't say a word, just stared intently at him. Chiming looked down at himself, puzzled, and touched himself, saying, "Big brother, what are you doing? Is there something strange about me?"
Li Qiang shook his head, circled Chiming once, rested his chin on his hand, and looked at him thoughtfully.
Chiming felt a chill run down his spine from his gaze and couldn't help but shout, "Big brother, what are you doing!" His voice boomed like thunder.
Li Qiang frowned and said calmly, "What's your name?"
With a mournful face, Chiming said, "Big brother, senior brother, just say what you want to say, don't look at me like that."
Li Qiang said, "Someone's here. Apparently, something was taken from him, and it seems to be related to you." He said it casually.
Chiming's eyes widened, and he said, "What? I, Old Chi, never take other people's things! Waaah, who's framing me?"
If someone unfamiliar with Chiming heard him speak so confidently, they might actually believe him.
Li Qiang smiled slightly; he knew this guy all too well.
Chiming said, feeling very wronged, "I didn't go anywhere in the Primordial Realm, how could I steal other people's things?"
Li Qiang said softly, " The Gu Xing has arrived."
Chiming coughed and said innocently, " Gu Xing? What does his arrival have to do with me?"
Li Qiang kicked him, yelling, "Don't play dumb with me! When Gu Xing was in the Ancient God Repository, he received a bracelet, which I helped him keep. I didn't take anything from inside, and neither did Gu Xing. Only you checked it. If something is missing... who else should I blame but you? Tell me, what is it? Even Master and Aunt have been alerted."
In fact, Chiming had forgotten that he had never looked at the Azure Slip he took out of curiosity. After Li Qiang reminded him, he slapped his forehead and said, "Strange, how did they know something was missing? It's unbelievable."
Li Qiang knew that Chiming had indeed taken the item, and he pressed, "What was it?"
Chiming chuckled, trying to hide his embarrassment, and said, "It's nothing special, just a Azure Slip. I put it away and then forgot about it... Hmm, they're so nervous... it must be very important."
As he spoke, he searched and quickly retrieved the Azure Slip, handing it to Li Qiang.
Li Qiang tried to probe it with his Divine Sense. This Azure Slip was different from the Jade Pupil Slip commonly used in the Cultivation Realm. It was filled with all kinds of fluctuations. Li Qiang was very familiar with these fluctuations. They were the Language of the Gods. However, the fluctuations recorded inside were very difficult to understand.
After a moment of silence, Li Qiang said, "The contents of this seem to be very important... Junior brother, the Azure Slip must be returned to Gu Xing, but... since it's in our hands, let's memorize it first and study it slowly when we have time."
Chiming said with a grin, "This thing is useful? Haha, luckily I kept it."
Li Qiang glared at him and said, "I don't know what it's for either. Wait a moment." He immediately used his Divine Sense to memorize the contents recorded in the Azure Slip.
It took Li Qiang three whole days to memorize it all.
He returned the Azure Slip to Chiming and said, "You should also quickly memorize it. The contents are difficult to remember and very complicated. Our current cultivation level is not enough to understand it, but this thing is indeed very important."
Chiming inwardly agreed with Li Qiang's actions, but his words took a different turn. "Haha, big brother, you're stealing too..." Before he could finish, Li Qiang kicked him away, sending him screaming in mid-air as his Divine Sense probed into the Azure Slip.
He wasn't stupid at all. Since he knew Azure Slip was important, he certainly wouldn't let this opportunity slip by.
Chiming floated in space, trying his best to memorize the fluctuations in the Azure Slip.
Li Qiang and the others stood aside, carefully recalling the fluctuations recorded in the Azure Slip.
This Language of the Gods was difficult to understand; he guessed it might be due to differences in their levels of understanding. Some fluctuations could vaguely resonate with him, but most of them elicited no response.
Three more days passed, and Chiming had completely memorized the fluctuations in the Azure Slip. He laughed and said, "Brother, this thing is too hard to remember. It was so difficult to finish memorizing it... Brother, what exactly is this? I still don't understand."
Li Qiang said, "Just because you don't understand now doesn't mean you won't understand later. Just remember it; you have plenty of time to think about it. Alright, go explain it to Gu Xing yourself. I have other things to do."
Without saying a word, he threw Chiming to Gu Xing, then re-entered the Luoge Grand Hall of the Illusory God Main Hall.
As soon as he appeared in the Luoge Grand Hall, Li Qiang couldn't help but burst into laughter.